UAE Patent Law Boost For Pharma Market

Leading United Arab Emirates lawyer Essam al-Tamimi has welcomed thegovernment's approval of a draft patent law with a view to encouraging foreign and local drugmakers to develop and invest in the local market. The law is expected to take effect in 2000.

Mr Tamimi said the UAE had been given until 2005 to comply with World Trade Organization requirements, but had no reason to delay. Saudi Arabia introduced patent protection for drugs in 1989 and local generic firms were licensed by international companies to produce drugs. The multinationals were not opposing the local manufacture and sale of drugs, he said, but wanted to draw the local authorities' attention to develop the UAE and Dubai in particular as an international center for the Middle East.

Local firms are producing unauthorized drugs which are patented and recognized as owned and registered by international companies under international names, he said, but: "unauthorized production and sale of pharmaceutical products in the UAE will never win, and will discourage technology and capital transfer." While local firms could obtain a licence to produce drugs under certain terms, "they chose the easy and unethical way" of doing this.